Comments on: North McDonough and Railroad Crossing Improvements Meeting Next Thursday

By: ant1

ant1 — Fri, 08 Nov 2013 15:42:56 +0000

i’m out

By: ant1

ant1 — Fri, 08 Nov 2013 15:41:38 +0000

i’ve been there, i’ve seen it. and i agree, their separated lanes are great. but they’re great mostly because, like you said, “motorists are so careful of cyclists there.” not yet the case here, and won’t be for years, imo. over there, drivers pulling out of a driveway, or side street, or well aware of the presence of cycle paths and that the riders have the right of way, here, not so much. and they didn’t develop their cycling infrastructure a few hundred feet at a time. it was a concerted countrywide effort. an amsterdam-like state is a wonderful goal for metro atlanta, but we’re not going to get there by piecemealing little aspects of amsterdam.

By: BikeDecatur

BikeDecatur — Fri, 08 Nov 2013 14:23:37 +0000

Ant1, it seems that you’re concerned that separate bike lanes perpetuate the view that bikes don’t belong on the road, and I understand where you’re coming from. I used to be worried about that until I spent some time in Holland. It’s as close to a cycling utopia as we might realistically get, and the secret is the core principle of their urban planning: the separation of slow and fast moving traffic (or cars and bikes). The separate bike lanes feel so safe that almost everyone cycles. It’s amazing — elderly people, kids, girls in high heels — all smiling on a Saturday, flowers in their panniers. In fact, I think that the separate bike lanes actually translate to better motorist behavior in spaces where there aren’t bike lanes. The special infrastructure demonstrates how important cycling is considered, how normative, and so bikes feel like they belong. Motorists are so careful of cyclists there. Other countries (and some cities in the US) are emulating the Netherlands and Denmark. So, separated lanes are the future, and I think that’s ultimately for the best.

By: MontyF

MontyF — Fri, 08 Nov 2013 03:43:58 +0000

Let’s make that “MASTER of her domain.”

By: MontyF

MontyF — Fri, 08 Nov 2013 01:28:28 +0000

“But she wouldn’t be able to spare the Decatur Square”

She could if she were queen of her domain.